[TrickiDicki]

Hi folks
I'm wondering if I can pull some advice from your assembled wisdom! 
I have a difficult TV/home theater area that I'd like to train without major structural surgery. The room is long with the viewing/listening area at one end. There are windows on two sides (with drapes) and wooden floors (with a rug). Naturally the sound is highly lop-sided and I'd like some advice on first steps that could be done to try to redress the natural imbalance.

Here's a plan of the room layout:

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

- Richard

[bpape]

Welcome Richard.

That room is certainly a challenge.  It's going to be very lively for sure.

In order to balance things left to right a bit, you'll need some absorbtion on the left hand side (or even some thick drapes if that's higher on the WAF scale).  Other than that, it's going to depend largely on how much flexibility we have in terms of where we can treat.  My first 2 suggestions would be the left front corner and the wall/ceiling corner over your head on the couch.  Being up against a wall is not a great place to be - but it doesn't appear that you have much choice in rearranging with the furniture.

Bryan

[TrickiDicki]

Thanks Bryan! Funnily enough we've got someone here right now measuring up for some new Roman blinds over both sets of windows so that should help significantly. Do you think trying to achieve a degree of enclosure on the right-hand side would help - maybe some kind of timber screen (you know, the self standing type, I always think they look a bit european...) or a small amount of partition wall? Should I try to enclose the right-hand side next to the RHS speaker?

Thanks

- Richard

[bpape]

I'd leave the right side alone for now and just balance the left to right that way.  You can always work on the rest later.  If you put up a hard surface on the right and then kill the left wall, you'll be unbalanced the other way.

Bryan

[TrickiDicki]

So absorbent materials on the LHS would be acoustically similar to the open void on the RHS, is that it?
[As you can tell, I'm no expert in these matters...    ]

[bpape]

It'll get it closer.  It's not perfect but your situation is difficult to deal with.

In a long narrow room, there are a lot of other things to deal with, especially when sitting against a wall and having the room arranged the short way. 

Bryan

[Ethan Winer]

Richard,

My first advice is to rotate your setup 90 degrees counterclockwise so you're facing the window at the top of the drawing. Yes, that puts the TV in front of the window, but it's the best arrangement for that room and solves your two main problems:

1) Having a reflecting wall directly behind you.

2) Lack of left-right symmetry which destroys imaging.

Then treat the corners with bass traps and add mid/high frequency absorption at the side-wall reflection points.

--Ethan

[bpape]

That was my first thought also but looking at the furnishings in the room, it doesn't appear to be a feasible solution unless the drawing isn't proportionate.  The couch looks like it's almost as big as the width of the room which would make it difficult to enter - not to mention leaving no place for the end tables.

If I'm wrong and it can be done that way, it's definitely a better way to go.

Bryan

[Ethan Winer]

The couch looks like it's almost as big as the width of the room which would make it difficult to enter

LOL, good point Bryan - I missed that completely. Still, if it were me, I'd rather climb over the back of the couch a few times per day than have a reflecting wall right behind me.


--Ethan

[Russell Dawkins]

This is a tricky one, Dick

Would it be feasible to change the main orientation so the axis is at a 45 degree diagonal into the upper right corner with the couch at an angle with the left end touching the left wall? The couch may be too long for this, too - could you use a narrower couch?

The screen would be in the corner between the windows and would not be obscuring any view, and the speakers could be roughly at the midpoint of each pair of windows.

[Glenn K]

The couch looks like it's almost as big as the width of the room which would make it difficult to enter

LOL, good point Bryan - I missed that completely. Still, if it were me, I'd rather climb over the back of the couch a few times per day than have a reflecting wall right behind me.


--Ethan

Or you could do it Dukes of Hazed style. You know just jump over. Hell maybe Daisy Duke might be on the other side waiting for you. 

Glenn

[jimdgoulding]

Putting your console at the top end of the room gives you a leg up if for no other reason than it removes the wall immediately behind you and creates an even sided box for waveform propagation.  That sofa appears as tho it would have to be replaced by a shorter version.  You could use a sofa table behind for lamps and stuff which would probably benefit from dark shades for viewing the telly.  Or if you listen/view with a partner you could replace with chairs and ottomans although your seating in this case would be somewhat off center.  Your speakers could be moved out and in, I would think, for pure listening.  If the console has open shelves or doors that open it would be better in this case.  You could put a narrow table in front of the windows on the right for function and looks and to help bust up waveforms.  I'm assuming that none those windows are glass doors that you use.  This arrangement should give you more even bass response and augment your low end if you are using bass lite speakers.

That left wall looks prime for some built in bookshelfs.  All of this should help with the high end balance, too.  Try toeing the speakers straight ahead if you were to do the above.

[TrickiDicki]

Hey, thanks for all the input guys. After starting the conversation with Bryan yesterday I also realised that a 90 degree twist would probably be necessary so went ahead and gave it a go. There's just enough room at the right-hand side of the couch to use as an entrance (without looking ridiculous) and the sound is (unsurprisingly) *soooo* much better. As a bonus, the speakers (Monitor Audio RS6 floorstanders) appreciate having more space to work in and sound less harsh and I can now see how a 5.1 setup will fit. The downside is the TV is in front of the window but you can still see beside and over it so it's not completely blocked. Afternoon sun will come directly thru that window so blinds will be necessary but they were needed anyway. The other downside is that we've lost that 'open' look of the room as the couch now basically bisects the space but at this time it looks like the best way to go.

So thanks for all your assistance. A good result I think

- Richard

[bpape]

Outstanding.  Glad it could actually work that way.  It's definitely a better starting point from a listening standpoint.

Bryan